* * *
Mara watched George drive away with a whole bunch of regrets stuck in her throat.
She shouldn’t have asked for his help. She shouldn’t have agreed to have dinner with him on New Year’s Eve. And she definitely shouldn’t have kissed him.
Because now she needed his help and all that lust and longing was just a big old elephant in the room between them. Mara couldn’t walk away from someone who could help Abbie. He would know what she should do, how she should tread carefully so the girl would finally talk to the police.
Yes. She needed George’s help but she didn’t need to feel attracted to him. No matter how much promise there had been in his lips and the way her body had reacted to his, he was a no-go zone right now. Abbie had to be her priority. What had Narima said? That she should find a handsome man and have a cheap, meaningless holiday fling. She’d found herself a handsome man all right, but the whole idea of the meaningless holiday fling was now a bad joke. He was so not the meaningless holiday fling kind of man.
Everything now was about Abbie. And judging by the change in him the moment she’d told him about her past, that’s what he was thinking, too. He’d shut down. One mention of her teenage troubles and the involvement of the cops and the shutters had gone up behind his eyes. She knew that look. It was the one that said she was too much trouble. It wasn’t fair then and it wasn’t fair now. She’d been a troubled kid, not a criminal.
Maybe she’d been wrong about George Gray. Perhaps all cops were the same.
She’d let a stupid holiday attraction get in the way of reality. And now, she had to get back to that reality. She had something way more important to keep her occupied now and that was an eighteen-year-old girl who needed help and deserved justice.
Chapter Twelve
George drove up to Karen’s place, turned into the driveway and almost careened into the back of Karen’s car.
‘What the fuck?’ He slammed on the brakes and came to a halt. All those defensive driving lessons paid off at times like this, when you weren’t expecting your patrol partner to come home a whole twenty-four hours early from Christmas with her folks after three months of rehab. He turned off the engine, took a deep breath and tried to get his head straight. Be cool. Don’t bombard her with questions. Don’t interrogate her. She’s someone you think of as a little sister, not a suspect.
He closed the car door, walked up the drive and when he got to the veranda, the front door flung open.
‘Where’s Fluffy?’ Karen looked past him to the car, as if she expected to see the mutt locked in there like a suspect in the back of a paddy wagon.
‘Well, hello. Thanks for looking after my place. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, too.’
‘Oh, shit. Of course.’ Karen came to him and threw her arms around him and he squeezed her in return.
‘Don’t worry about the dog. She hasn’t run away. She’s not lost. Although after she bit me I was tempted to let her loose.’
Karen’s eyes opened wide. ‘Fluffy bit you?’
George held a thumb in the air. ‘Almost took it clean off.’
Karen spluttered and then bent double with laughter. She roared and slapped him playfully on the shoulder and damn it, he felt like he could finally breathe for the first time in three months.
Scratch that. Three years. He felt his face split into a smile and he laughed. ‘Your mutt is with a friend of mine … and her friend. Well, a kid actually.’
Karen raised her eyebrows. ‘You’ve got a friend? Down here? You don’t know anyone here. That’s why I thought it would be the perfect place for a grumpy arse like you to hang out.’
‘I see you haven’t kicked your sarcasm habit.’
She slapped him again. ‘You’re right there. It’s been the only thing keeping me going for the past three months. Come inside. You can make me a coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.’
George did as he was commanded and a few minutes later they were on the sofa with their coffees. He couldn’t stop looking at Karen, at how healthy she looked. She’d been in a slow decline for the past three years and now, well, she looked normal. She looked like the Karen he’d met when they were at the police academy together all those years ago. Her cheeks were full and her skin glowed. She’d put some weight back on and it suited her. She didn’t look like she’d blow over if there was a strong wind or if a drunk leaned on her late at night in Hindley Street.
‘Stop staring, you idiot.’ Karen sipped her coffee and smiled at him.
‘I can’t help it. You look …’
‘You’re not going to hit on me now, are you? I’m not for turning, you know. That’s why we made such good partners. The tall, dark and handsome man thing you’ve got going on does absolutely nothing for me.’
George chuckled. He had lost count of the number of times people had assumed they were an item, or had been one sometime in the distant past. He’d met a couple of Karen’s girlfriends over the years, too, but she hadn’t found anyone to settle down with. Neither had he. It was the work, they told themselves when they were on night patrol and needed things to talk about. Civilians couldn’t understand the job, could they?
Civilians. He thought of Mara and the look on her face as he’d walked away from her just half an hour ago.
‘So,’ Karen announced. ‘You going to ask me if I’m still a drunk?’ She was trying to be ballsy but he knew her. He heard the slight tremor in her voice and noticed her eyes shining suddenly.
He leaned forward, cradling his coffee between his hands. ‘Okay. You still a drunk?’
‘Always will be but I’ve been sober since I walked into that place in Melbourne.’
‘Congratulations. I mean it. That must have been fucking hard.’
Karen slumped back on the sofa. ‘The hardest thing I’ve ever done.’
‘Glad you’re home,’ George said and meant it.
‘Me, too. But I was kind of hoping to be licked senseless by Fluffy.’
George looked into his black coffee. ‘I said I’d go back to Mara’s this afternoon and get her.’
‘Mara?’ Karen smirked.
‘That’s her name. My … friend.’
Karen snorted and George could only chuckle.
‘You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow, remember?’
Karen blew out a breath. ‘Being at Mum and Dad’s for Christmas was great, but I kind of felt like a rat in a cage, you know? They don’t know how to treat me. I swear Mum was following me around the house to make sure I didn’t get stuck into the brandy she’d used to make the Christmas pudding.’
Karen’s brash attitude didn’t surprise George. It was her way. In that respect, she hadn’t changed from the first day at the academy when she’d sidled up to him and dubbed him ‘Georgeous’. Her barbs and humour had disappeared after she’d been shot. He was so relieved they were back.
‘Don’t worry about your parents. They’ve just been worried sick about you. That’s why they were hovering.’
Karen waved his comment away. ‘I know, I know. And they told me all about what you’d done.’
‘What?’ George feigned ignorance.
‘That you bloody well paid for my rehab. How the hell did you think I wouldn’t find out?’
He felt his jaw tighten. ‘It’s the least I could do for you.’
Karen got to her feet, swore, and stomped to the kitchen. From there, she yelled, ‘That is such bullshit and you know it.’
He followed her. She was refilling her cup from the coffee machine. Her hand was shaking.
‘It’s not bullshit.’
She turned to face him. Her face was like thunder. ‘You’re not responsible for what happened to me, George. And when you act like you are, it diminishes me as a person with the free will to make my own decisions. When you decide to take the blame for that arsehole shooting me, you know what you’re really saying?’
He figured he should shut up and listen.
Karen contin
ued. ‘You’re saying that it would be perfectly okay for you to step in front of me and get shot, because you’re some big tough guy. But not the other way around. Well, you are a big tough guy, but I’m tough, too. I stepped in front of you because that’s what partners do. I thought you would have done the same because I’m your partner, not because I’m a woman. Not because you think that somehow I needed your protection or something. That’s what’s bullshit.’
Her lips were wobbling.
His mind was reeling. ‘Shit.’ He rubbed a hand over his hair.
‘You’re not a big sexist arsehole, I know that. So stop acting like one.’
She socked him on the shoulder.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. ‘I am allowed to worry about you, you know. That’s what partners do.’
‘I know that. Just quit feeling guilty. I did this to myself.’ Karen’s voice became quiet. ‘It wasn’t just being shot that sent me to rehab. Not on its own, anyway. There’s other stuff in my past that came up to bite me on the arse.’
George had never heard Karen talk about anything in her past. ‘Like what stuff?’
‘Stuff that I’m not going to talk to you about. You’re protective enough as it is. If I told you about all the other shit I’ve had to deal with in my life, you’d be all over me like a hawk.’ She huffed. ‘Even more than you are now.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘It’s true, Georgeous. It’s in your DNA. It’s who you are. It’s what you’ve been doing for the past three years. I love that about you but it drives me nuts.’ Karen swiped a hand over her face. ‘Look. There’s something I have to tell you. I had a lot of time in rehab to think about my life.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know if I’m going to go back to policing.’
Karen studied his face, waiting for his reaction. He didn’t give her one. George remained calm. It would be a huge loss to the force if she didn’t return. But he didn’t say that. He’d heard what she’d just told him. Back off, basically. Standing there in her kitchen telling her she was the best cop he’d ever worked with and that she would be a loss to the force would prove her right. He knew he was right, but this wasn’t the time and place to make the point. ‘Give it some time,’ he said finally. ‘You’ve been through a lot.’
‘Exactly. Which is why I think life’s too short, you know?’
‘There’s no rush. You’ve still got a few months off, right?’
Karen nodded. ‘And if I do go back, the last thing I’ll need is you watching my every move. Clear?’
‘As a bell.’
Karen sipped her coffee. ‘And now I need to take my dog for a walk on the beach, which I’ve missed doing so much since I’ve been away. Let’s go get her.’
* * *
The short drive to Mara’s place allowed more than enough time for George to fill Karen in on how he’d met Mara and how he’d come to be involved in Abbie’s rescue. He failed to mention anything about asking Mara over for dinner, kissing her at midnight and the inconvenient attraction he felt for her. They were going back to their real lives in a few days. The holiday would be over. It was best that they didn’t pursue whatever it was between them any further.
‘That poor kid.’ Like him, Karen had seen similar cases. It was hard to feel shocked after fifteen years in the police force. She went right to the practicalities, like the excellent cop she was. ‘That rock spider needs to face what he’s done.’ She turned to him. ‘Have you called the Child and Family Investigation Unit? They’ll be all over this. They should know she’s turned up, that there’s a chance they can interview her now. Louisa works for that unit. You know, Louisa from my cricket team. Should I call her?’
George smiled. Was this the same woman who just a few minutes ago was telling him she didn’t see a future in the police force? He felt a shred of hope. ‘We’ve got to take this slow. She’s still a flight risk in my estimation. Mara’s trying to give her a safe space to help her feel settled after what she’s been through. So don’t go in there all guns blazing, okay?’
‘Message received loud and clear. You think she’ll talk?’
George turned his Pajero into the driveway of Mara’s rental. ‘That’s what Mara’s hoping. And there’s something else I need to tell you. Abbie’s taken to Fluffy. And the feeling is mutual.’
‘She’s probably happy to actually be spending some time with someone who likes dogs.’
‘I like dogs.’
‘You do not. Which makes it even more honourable that you’ve been looking after her.’
Karen unclipped her seatbelt and went to step out of the car. George put a hand on her shoulder. ‘And, by the way, the kid doesn’t know I’m a cop. Doesn’t like our kind so much. She’s been burnt. So the best approach is probably to not tell her you are, either.’
‘So who am I supposed to be then?’
George smiled across at her. ‘You’ll figure it out.’
Chapter Thirteen
Mara had made up a plate of sandwiches for herself and Abbie and set them on the table in the living room. Mara was still trying to feed the girl, guessing by her weight loss and her sunken cheeks that she hadn’t been able to look after herself while she’d been on the run. Abbie thanked her and hungrily devoured a couple of sandwiches before carefully peeling back the top slices of another couple of triangles and pulling out the ham for Fluffy.
Mara had looked on with a smile and an ache in her chest. They both knew food was a comfort. No wonder the dog had taken such a liking to Abbie.
After they’d eaten, Mara cleaned up and was about to settle down next to Abbie with a coffee and the book she’d been trying to read when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. Abbie was listening to music on Mara’s iPod and didn’t look up at the noise.
Mara wasn’t expecting any visitors and a shiver of fear skittered across her mind. No, it couldn’t be Jared, the guy Abbie had been running from. There was no way he would know where they were. She was sure Abbie hadn’t been in contact with him since they’d arrived back at Remarkable Bay last night.
She went to the front window of the living room and peered outside into the afternoon sun. The light was bouncing off the ocean and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to make out who was in the car.
It was George. She checked her watch. He’d barely been gone an hour. What was he doing back so early? And why had he brought someone with him? There was a woman in the passenger seat and they were having a rather animated conversation. When they finally opened the car doors and stepped out into the front yard, Mara quickly stepped back from the window.
‘Who is it?’ Abbie had pulled the earphones from her ears and was looking curiously to the window. She was lying on the sofa, her long legs stretched out, and Fluffy was curled up in a ball alongside her with a stomach full of ham.
‘It’s George. And someone I don’t know.’
Abbie gasped. ‘He’s not going to take Fluffy back so soon, is he?’ She lowered her voice. ‘He said he’d be back later. I was going to take her for another walk on the beach today.’
Mara shrugged. ‘I’m not sure why he’s back but I think we’re about to find out.’
There was a knock on the door. Three strong raps. As she went to open it, Mara wondered how many times George had knocked on doors just like this one, having to tell the people on the other side the most unimaginable news. She shivered at the thought.
She opened the main door and George stepped into view. ‘Hi,’ he said.
‘Hey,’ Mara replied.
‘This is my … friend. Karen.’ A woman about Mara’s age appeared at the mention of her name. She was as tall as George, with a slim build and shoulder-length brown hair pushed back from her face in a wave at her forehead. She was wearing board shorts and a white T-shirt and a silver necklace caught the sunlight. She looked like someone on holidays.
‘Hi, Mara.’
‘Hi, Karen. Nice to meet you. Come in.’ And then it hit her. This was Karen.
George’s patrol partner. The one who’d stepped in front of him and been shot. The one who’d been in rehab. Fluffy’s owner. They stepped inside and Mara shut the screen door behind them.
‘Hey, George.’ Abbie waved from the sofa.
‘This is Abbie,’ Mara said.
‘Hi. I’m Karen.’ And then when Karen noticed the scrappy ball of fluff on the sofa next to Abbie, she called out, ‘Fluffy!’
At the sound of her owner’s voice, Fluffy jumped off the sofa and almost leaped into Karen’s outstretched arms. The dog licked Karen’s cheek and Karen let her, laughing and half sobbing at seeing her companion again. Mara glanced at George and his gaze was on her. His eyes were dark, so much unsaid in them, she knew, because of Abbie’s presence. They weren’t touching, or even close, but in that moment Mara could feel the warmth of his mouth on hers, his strong arms around her, and her lonely heart thumped into life.
‘She’s a lovely dog,’ Abbie said quietly, and Mara and George broke their gaze to look at the young girl. Her eyes were shining with fresh tears and her bottom lip was trembling. She sniffed and tried to hide it with a laugh.
‘I’ve really missed her while I’ve been away. She’s the best.’ Karen kissed the top of Fluffy’s head and Fluffy panted in response, her little pink tongue hanging out of her head, her eyes half closed in sheer delight at all the attention.
Abbie sat up on the sofa and laid her hands in her lap, rather primly. ‘Thanks for letting me hang with her for a while. She looks really happy to see you.’
Mara watched the scene unfold. Karen negotiated her way around the coffee table and stood near Abbie. ‘Mind if I sit down?’
‘Sure.’ Abbie scooted over to make room for Karen and the dog. She put Fluffy down between them and stroked his back gently while she talked.
‘Isn’t it beautiful down here at Remarkable Bay?’
Abbie sighed. ‘It’s so amazing. We took Fluffy for a walk on the beach after breakfast and she loved it.’
‘Fluffy?’ Karen feigned surprise. ‘Fluffy was actually running?’
‘Yeah, she really was, wasn’t she, Ms Blumberg?’
Christmas at Remarkable Bay Page 8
